University’s Research Emphasis Week returns to in-person sessions, adds symposium

Activities took place May 29 – June 3 with the centerpiece event, the presentation of research papers and posters, occurring June 1 in Price Science Complex. More than 50 students participated. The presentation event was followed by a keynote address and an awards ceremony that recognized first, second and third-place winners with prizes in categories for course-associated posters, faculty-mentored posters and research papers.

Student researchers stationed by their posters filled the upper and lower hallways of the science complex on June 1. They explained to attendees their hypotheses, methods and outcomes of scientific investigations in biology, chemistry and biochemistry, health and  exercise science, and psychology.

Nathan Sarti, a biochemistry and health professions major collaborated with alumnus and Loma Linda University School of Medicine student Natasha Le in analyzing new ways of measuring purine metabolites which may serve as biomarkers for oxidative stress. La Sierra assistant chemistry professor Marco Allard served as advising professor for the directed research project. Clinical applications were aimed at determining levels of oxidative stress in newborn infants by collecting and analyzing urine samples from diapers. The goal was to identify medical conditions that involve oxidative stress.

“We’re trying to quantify how much of this damage is actually happening through the biomarkers of purine metabolites." -- Nathan Sarti, biochemistry and health professions major, Research Emphasis Week awards finalist

“We’re trying to quantify how much of this damage is actually happening through the biomarkers of purine metabolites, how much oxidative stress is happening,” Sarti said. This potentially allows scientists and physicians to better determine an infant’s level of discomfort through measuring oxidative stress levels. “Since babies can’t tell us how much they’re in pain, you can do that through a measure of oxidative stress,” Sarti said.

Sarti focused on investigating new ways of quantifying purine metabolites through a spectrometer and use of ultraviolet light.  

“My part of the project relates to the new process we’re developing,” he said. The process requires a spectrometer that emits UV lights and measures the difference in power that passes through a sample. Whatever wavelength is being absorbed by the molecule gives a hint as to the molecule’s type, Sarti said. “It’s a little complicated, but the overall idea is a new way of measuring purine metabolites.”

Sarti's poster was a finalist for the Research Emphasis Week awards. In May he was selected as the College of Arts & Sciences department award winner for biochemistry. He plans to pursue a doctoral degree in analytical chemistry.

Selected research papers were presented prior to the hallway poster presentation. The evening concluded with an awards ceremony preceded by a keynote lecture by Lora Geriguis, professor of English. She gave a talk titled “Wit from Nature’s Store: Research at the Intersections of Culture and Science.”

“I was ecstatic to be able to see that people enjoyed the science." -- Daniel Bazan, senior neuroscience major, upcoming National Institutes of Health post-baccalaureate research training program participant

Senior neuroscience major Daniel Bazan and two other students won the first place award in the faculty-mentored posters category. Bazan also took second place for his own poster in the same category.The first place poster, which involved Bazan with classmates Jenny Peruch and Grant Yonemoto, described research conducted under marine biologist and biology department chair Lloyd Trueblood. The group analyzed the effect of increased ocean acidification on a species of crab.

“The purpose of this research was twofold,” Bazan said. “First we investigated how a naturally low pH marine habitat, the Salish Sea in Washington State, is affecting the Dungeness crab. As the ocean acidifies due to rising atmospheric CO2, we found that the oxygen-carrying capacity of hemocyanin was significantly impacted by decreasing pH levels in the crabs. Secondly, our lab hypothesized that after long term exposure, the change we see in how pH affects blood oxygen binding may be a result of the crabs producing an isozyme of hemocyanin that is more efficient at low pH, to increase the oxygen delivery in low pH environments.  This may be one way they adapt to ocean acidification.”

His second-place poster described analysis of the cause of cell death in chemoresistant prostate cancer cells.

“I was ecstatic to be able to see that people enjoyed the science, enjoyed the presentation, and received something from it,” said Bazan, in describing his reaction to his award wins. “Anytime science can be recognized by a community for its positive contributions, it should be praised for the work put into it and the possibility of change coming out of it.”Bazan, a senior neuroscience major and winner of La Sierra’s College of Arts & Sciences dean’s award aims for a career as a physician and medical researcher. He has been accepted into a post-baccalaureate research training program at the National Institutes of Health and plans to specialize in theragnostic medicine followed by a Ph.D. investigating neurological diseases and mental health disorders.

“I was really happy because the members of our cohort were all there together and I was able to share the moment with them.” -- Soojeong “Susan” Moon, biomedical sciences major and first-place award winner

Second-year biomedical sciences major Soojeong “Susan” Moon won first place for course-associated posters for her work during a SEA-GENES course led by virologist and associate biology professor Arturo Diaz. “My research was on bacteriophages [which are] viruses that infect specific host bacteria, specifically Phage Lebron. Bacteriophages are important because of the great amount of potential they hold in various fields, particularly in medicine in developing treatment of human infections against harmful bacteria,” Moon said.

“Our cohort worked on Phage Lebron because it has the ability to infect M. smegmatis, which is closely related to M. tuberculosis. We particularly tried to find toxic genes, which are those that slow down [or] prevent the host growth due to its ability in interfering with the cellular process within the bacteria. Through molecular cloning and phenotypic assay, I found that gene 66 is toxic as well as the potential function.”

Moon’s classmates from the SEA-GENES course attended the awards ceremony and cheered her on.

“I was really happy because the members of our cohort were all there together and I was able to share the moment with them,” Moon said, noting that her classmates were the first friends she made when entering college. “To be awarded in REW was meaningful because everyone in our cohort put in a lot of effort and it was an honor to be recognized for what we worked on.

Research Emphasis Week 2022 concluded with a new element – the first annual STEM Symposium. The four-hour hybrid event offered in-person and on Zoom included exhibits and presentations by alumni about their work in science, technology, engineering and math fields. Networking and job opportunities were also available. The evening included the presentation of the Roger Tatum Award to Marco Allard, associate professor of chemistry.